Re: Prerecordedmaterial

[midifriedchicken@comcast.net]

Of course it all depends on the genre and audience. To me, its all the same. In my electronica gig, I try to blur the lines between DJ and Performing Musician. The audience wants the music to sound good. Period. If I need to have several parts layed out to serve the music, so be it. I could, and have played everything live. Its a lot of work and the arrangments tend to resemble one another as a result. 

 

A lot of looping that I hear, is really more about the manipulation of sound then the actual playing of the instrument. The notes played on the guitar are really just a starting point. Delays, filters, and the looper itself are the stars of the show.

 

So the natural extension of that is to use anything and everything at your disposal. The audience doesn't care. Maybe the calssic rock guitar player in the back of the room will sneer and dismiss me as being fake, but I couldn't give a shit about him. My audience is just trying to blow off some steam after a long week. The bass line I recorded on wednesday and added all sorts of clip envelopes will sound way better then the bass line I could play live. Melodies, solos, and other flavors are done live and are never the same. Plus with Lives Follow actions, you can have as much or as little randomness as you like.

 

Whatever serves the music. Ego be damned.

 

MFC

 

 

 

 

-------------- Original message --------------
From: "Rick Walker" <looppool@cruzio.com>

> I've only done all improvisatory concerts for the last 10 years of my life
> but I have started to desire playing some more formal musical concerts with
> my looping
> gear in the upcoming year.
>
> Though I put a high premium on people doing as much as possible live I was
> enthralled
> with Thomas Dolby's recent spate of concerts where he had a lot of
> prerecorded material
> that he seemlessly added to his considerable live looping chops.
>
> Essentially, his performance had a beautiful blend of spontaneity with his
> live looping
> and also wonderful renditions of some of the tunes of his that I love
> dearly.
> His rendition of 'One of Our Submarines' was so beautiful and evocative
> that I cried
> during it. I honestly didn't stop to analyze ho w much he had looped live
> in it and how
> much he was triggering as pre-made loops and/or samples. It was just great,
> emotionally
> rendered and entertaining music.
>
> There are times when attempting to do more formal kinds of music like pop
> songs as a 'fer instance
> where it just takes too long to get the whole thing going in terms of the
> energy of the song and
> the interaction of the audience.
>
> Quite frankly, I am entertaining the thought of having occasional stored
> loops where I can
> be very, very improvisatory and off the cuff at the end of one tune and then
> immediately
> launch a loop that gives me enough time to quickly change instruments and
> vibes for the next track.
>
> You know, it's interesting, but Amy X Neuburg has been one of the very
> best recieved
> live looping artists in our festivals and community. Kid Beyond is also
> similarly extremely well recieved
> as a looping artist. Both of these artists use a lot of pre canned
> material in their shows.
> After having seen Amy's show many times, it's apparent that things are
> planned to within a gnats eye lash
> in her songs. No one has ever complained in the looping community about
> it because they are both
> such incredibly performers and, indeed, they are doing the lion's share of
> their work in real time , viz a vis
> looping.
>
> Still and all, I make it clear to all who play the Y2K Festivals that their
> performances have to be
> predominantly live looping oriented.
>
> I've turned away dozens of groups who play to predominantly pre recorded
> loops and just aren't in the spirit
> of live looping.
>
> In the long run, the larger and more mass audiences neither care whether
> wh at we are doing is canned or
> spontaneous.................they tend only to think about the music and the
> performance.
>
> And this is coming from a guy who has been a militantly no canned loops
> performer for a long, long time.
>